After a good winter jacket for the bike, have looked at a Rapha jacket (approx £190) and a couple of Castelli jackets (£160-£200) but not sure, it is a lot of money to spend so want to get the choice right first time.

One of my favorite jackets is actually a very old and cheap-looking team jacket that is light genuine wool blend with a wind-breaker material on the front. It was made by "Decca" in Belgium. (They really know how to dress for cold-weather cycling). I then layer appropriate to the temperature with polypropylene, etc under the jacket. I have had a few more expensive and fancier jackets, but they all eventually wore out, or were actually too warm for putting out any real effort in cold weather. A lot of ventilation seems to be key. You shoukld actually think "this jacket isn't quite warm enough" when you start the ride.

I've had my Endura Fusion jacket for about a week. Riding around 45 F with the underarm vents open and one layer underneath, it's very comfortable, not too hot and certainly not too cold. I'm hoping that with two layers underneath and the vents closed it will be good down to 25 F. It's cheaper than some alternatives. Without prompting, my wife told me it looks good.

I commute year round on my bike so I have a little spreadsheet with what to wear at what temp. From 30f-60f I wear an Endura Windchill jacket. As the temp approaches 30f I add in one of those new fangled lycra long john shirts underneath and a t shirt. below 30f I wear a mountain hardware compressor jacket. I need the spreadsheet or I end up leaving the house with way too much on and sweating after a couple miles and end up colder.

What are the temps like where you ride? Below 60 I may wear a 100% synthetic long sleeve base layer and a short sleeve synthetic jersey. Below 50 I might wear a heavier wool jersey and add head and leg protection. From 40 to somewhere in the 30's a wind proof barrier might be added. From 35 and lower is where jackets start coming into play.

I have a couple jackets. One is a cheaper Castelli that I recently grabbed from Bonk town. I wore it once so far for 30 minutes in 35 degree weather and it was plenty warm (possibly too warm considering my base layer). I also have a pretty old Pearl Izumi jacket that is thicker than the Castelli and fits more like a coat than a jersey (it even has zippered side pockets instead of jersey pockets). The two layers I mentioned plus the one PI jacket work well below 20 degrees with the possible addition of a scarf on the really cold days.

Jackets don't seem very useful until you get at or near freezing temperatures.

I have a Rapha rain jacket in the grey color from this year and like it. This year I am going to try the Castelli gaba jersey with the water repellent arm and leg warners, I like clothing to hug the body as tightly as possible and jackets seem to flap a lot.

The Rapha stuff is awesome. I prefer it over Assos, Giordanna, Sugoi, Gore, etc, etc. Assos is very well made but a bit too "superhero" looking for me. Also I didn't like the neck cuff on the 851. Rapha is very casual looking. You could almost wear it off the bike. I've had the black Classic Softshell and Winter Longsleeve jerseys for two years and I love them. The new Grey Softshell and ProTeam Winter Training jackets also seem nice.

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